Tools

Search

Social media

Languages

Zobacz także:

Late Andrzej Wajda’s portrayal of Władysław Strzemiński is a production with lots of unfulfilled potential. What we could have got is an ambivalent, fractured depiction of Strzemiński. What we got instead is a lifeless story about a steadfast artist, overwhelmed by the system. Read more »about: Afterimage – Andrzej Wajda

A 1985 film by Andrzej Wajda, based on Tadeusz Konwicki’s novel. Its plot, which takes place in the spring and summer of 1939 and tells the story of a passionate love which brings together two high school graduates right before the outbreak of the war, gave Wajda a chance to revisit the world which he remembered from his own youth. Read more »about: Chronicle of Amorous Accidents – Andrzej Wajda

Andrzej Wajda's film adaptation of Adam Mickiewicz’s epic poem. Written in Paris between 1832 and 1834, for the author it was supposed to be an escape from the Parisian reality of the Polish emigrants’ conflicts after the unsuccessful uprising against Russia. Read more »about: Pan Tadeusz – Andrzej Wajda

Wałęsa: Man of Hope - Andrzej Wajda

Lech Wałęsa’s biopic is Andrzej Wajda’s best movie since Korczak in 1990. It demystifies the leader of Solidarity - and presents the national legend somewhat pompously and ironically.

For years no Polish film has raised emotions and expectations like Wajda’s new Wałęsa. Człowiek z nadziei. On one hand, its release is accompanied by great media buzz, amplified by the marketing machinery; on the other, it is treated with suspicion by potential viewers with various judgements about the historical figure and fears of a boring lecture on a monumental hero.

In the past, Wajda often entered the realm of media-journalistic battles, to debate about Poland and discuss the country's changes, history and founding myths. That was how he became a prisoner of his own image, a one-man institution. With Wałęsa he has to meet expectations of the public and media once again. Some wanted a tale about a national hero. Others were longing for a story showing the fall of a great character who began collaborating with the communist-era secret services. Yet another part of the audience hoped that Lech Wałęsa would be portrayed as an ordinary man, a husband and head of a large family. It is worth noting that after publication in 2011 of Marzenia i tajemnice / Dreams and Secrets by Danuta Wałęsa, his wife, the coming movie was expected to present a thorough family background.

Wajda tried to respond to various needs, so in Wałesa we will find a few separate narratives. The story of a labourer turning into the people’s tribune is interwoven into a tale of the Solidarity movement. We peek behind scenes, where we see Danuta’s private life (good acting by Agnieszka Grochowska) and follow Wałęsa toward international fame.

The director skillfully merges these threads as he moves through time. Shifts are made possible by the somewhat anachronistic film structure, framed by an interview Wałęsa gave to Orianna Fallaci in 1981. Paweł Edelman proves that he is a true artist - his cinematography brings to mind black-and-white film chronicles, or takes us straight to the greyish, dull-coloured reality of communist Poland of the 1980s.

What’s best in Wajda’s movie is the sense of humour. Though the director often argued with screenwriter Janusz Głowacki during work on the script, the perspective of an ironic playwright is visible on screen. Robert Więckiewicz daringly portrays Wałęsa as a buffoon and good-willed simpleton. In one scene Wałęsa is incarcerated in Arłamowo (then a government hotel in the southeast). He receives a papal encyclical from a priest and asks without hesitating “Why should I even read this? I agree with the pope on everything”. It’s hard not laugh at this. Another high point is when Wałęsa asks a famous reporter a question that becomes an ironic punchline in the film: “You probably think I’m… conceited?”.

The spirit of the writer Witold Gombrowicz looms over Wajda’s movie. On one hand, this is a work by a man enslaved by his social role, a national artist telling the tale of a national hero in order to strengthen national unity. On the other, this is a film in which a man full of weaknesses turns out to be more interesting than any historical monument. As a character, Lech Wałęsa isn’t Homeric, but neither is he a caricature.

Wałęsa has a bit of everything. Wajda, Głowacki and Więckiewicz skillfully balance a line between pathos and mockery. That's why Wajda’s movie is more similar to Kazimierz Kutz’s Zawrócony / Reverted or Anrdzej Munk’s bittersweet Eroica than to a heroic lecture on Polish history.

Wałęsa turns out to be a history of the falls - signing the declaration of collaboration with the secret services - and ascents of a man who for many was the symbol of hope. Wajda's tale ends in 1989, which means that painful revisions of the myth of Solidarity in the 1990s is omitted. A film including this would be more agonising - but it would also come closer to the greatest Wajda movies demythologizing Polish history.

In accordance with the law from August 29, 1997, relating to the protection of personal data (consolidated text, Journal of Laws, 2002, no. 101, Item 926), I am hereby giving my formal consent to the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, located at 25 Mokotowska Street in Warsaw (00-560), to process my personal data.

A lot of newly-constructed hotels are not only comfortable retreats but also notable works of architecture. While hotel industry experts emphasise that tourist accommodation in Poland should expand, we show below that it’s worth looking after not only guests’ comfort, but also the shape of the buildings they’ll be staying in. Read more »about: Poland’s Most Magnificent Contemporary Hotels

In August, the winners of the 1st Beijing International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition for Young Pianists will tour Poland at the invitation of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. The young Chinese pianists will visit places related to Fryderyk Chopin, including Warsaw and the composer’s birthplace in Żelazowa Wola. Read more »about: Winners of Beijing Chopin Competition Visit Chopin's Homeland

Poland's remarkable history in graphic design shows no sign of abating in the 21st century. Having delighted design lovers across Asia, the travelling exhibition Eye on Poland has crossed the Pacific Ocean to São Paulo, where it will showcase the best in contemporary poster art from 19th September to 31st October 2017. Read more »about: Eye on Poland's New Graphic Design Comes to São Paulo

Composer, improviser, performer and sound director. For many years he collaborated with the Polish Radio Experimental Studio, then founded the Studio of Impossible Sounds. With Freelectronic and Amusos he performed in the whole Europe, he regularly performs with the group Kawalerzy Błotni. Read more »about: Tadeusz Sudnik